Stefano Ghisolfi, one of the best route climbers both outdoors and in competitions over the last ten years, has sent Anam cara low (8C) in Silvretta and L'oppio dei climbers (8B+) in Val Daone. Next up for the Italian is the World Cup in Chamonix.
Can you tell us more about your late bouldering focus and doing your first 8C?
With the heat it is easier to find some bouldering in cold places than routes, I spent few days in Valdaone close to home and then we went to Silvretta.

I was surprised my shape was quite good on bouldering, I could climb Anam Cara (8B+) in few attempts and the low on my second day, quite fast considering it is my first 8C.

Ben Harnden, who did his third 9a in 2021, has done the second ascent of Connor Herson’s Midnight Way (9a+) in Squamish. The line follows all the hard climbing on Spirit Quest (9a) and then climbs straight into several hard boulders. (c) Tempei Takeuchi

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
Midnight Way is a striking sport climb located in Paradise Valley, just north of Squamish, British Columbia. This cliff is one of the most stunning sport walls in the Sea to Sky corridor and has played a significant role in my climbing journey. I started climbing on Paradise Wall early in its development, getting on some of the first repeats of Queen Bee, Spirit of the West, Spirit Quest, and Killer Queen. I also found myself in a friendly race with Mike Foley for the first ascent of what would become Spirit Quest (9a)—a process that unfolded during the intense heat dome over southern BC. Mike sent it first, and I followed a few weeks later. Midnight Way links the entire crux of Spirit Quest into a stout V9 boulder problem known as Spectre de Norte, and finishes on the technical testpiece Killer Queen. It’s a demanding and unique line, blending several of the wall’s hardest sequences into one continuous challenge.

I began working the route consistently during dry spells in January. I used a variety of tactics—top-rope soloing to rehearse the upper crux and climbing with Alex King to rework the bottom of Spirit Quest, which he was also projecting. The process was about rediscovering the wall—its subtleties, its movement—and building the power required for the full link. The vision for this line had existed for a few years. It was originally bolted by Tom Wright, who later climbed the first ascent of Spirit of the West. Then, last year, California climber Conner Herson completed the first ascent of Midnight Way. His send was inspiring and motivated me to return to Paradise Wall after a long break. Relearning the intricacies of the movement and re-experiencing the wall with fresh eyes was both humbling and energizing.

As for the grade, tools like Darth Grader place it in the 5.15 range. Ultimately, though, consensus will come with more repeats from climbers who are familiar with this style and this wall. Regardless of the number, Midnight Way is one of the most special and challenging climbs I’ve done. It represents an evolution of climbing on Paradise Wall and a meaningful chapter in my own progression.

How old are you and have you done any specific physical training to get this progression?
I’m 41 years old with no specific training. The previous season, I worked on and eventually repeated Didier’s Crack of Destiny (8c) and added two new 5.14 sport routes to Squamish. Which was a great season for me . This past winter, I wasn’t able to climb or train due to a severe case of elbow tendinitis that kept me off the walls. But with rehab and keeping weight on my feet, I was able to still climb in paradise wall.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has during the last ten days in La Saume ticked 18 routes including The famous gem (9a) and an onsight of Lou Merzeou (8b+). ”50 meters of incredible rock and movements. Hot conditions, good fight and an attempt to remember!” (c) Mariana Fierro

The 26-year-old Spaniard has previously onsighted five 8c routes and a dozen 8b+, making him a contender for the runner-up spot in the onsight ranking game after Adam Ondra and Alex Megos. In the annual VL ranking game, the Spaniard holds the #1 position.

Neo Suzuki won the World Cup in Innsbruck on countback, being the only climber to top the semifinal. The runners-up were Olympic gold medalists Toby Roberts and Alberto Ginés López.

”I’m very happy with my first gold medal. I believe the route was a bit easy, but I found it difficult in the middle section, that's when I felt tired. Innsbruck is an awesome venue, there were so many people supporting me. My season is going very well, I would like to win the overall title.”

” I’m really tired, after three days of climbing. It was exhausting, but at the same time I’m so happy I climbed like I wanted to. The route was so fun, so nice, there was a little bit of hesitation on the swing, but I think it was because I didn’t know if I could reach or not. I know the crowd was worried a little bit, I was not. I love Innsbruck, that’s why I chose this competition for my return after the Olympic year, the crowd is fantastic, they give you fuel, they give you energy to climb, I just love it. And I hope Innsbruck loves me too.”

Sera Gearhart, with five 8B’s to her name, has completed Nuthin' But Sunshine (8B) in RMNP. The 28-year-old, who did her first 8B two years ago is the new #1 in the ranking game.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and how long the process was?
I’m in Colorado for a week to try The Automator (8B) and tried this boulder too! It took me two days, I did it second try of the second day. It felt a lot more approachable than Automator, so I’m hoping it’ll give me the momentum I need to siege the other.

Janja Garnbret, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who had not competed for nine months, won her 47th World Cup gold in Innsbruck. Interestingly, the Slovenian was fifth in the qualification and then fourth in the semifinal before winning the final in superior style.

”It feels amazing. I didn’t know how I would feel coming back, but this amazing Innsbruck crowd welcomed me back. I really enjoyed myself on the wall, had a bit of a shaky start in qualification, then it felt 100% better in semi-final, and now I felt like my old self in final. I really enjoyed being back.

You never forget how to compete, but being back after nine months, in the middle of the season, was not the easiest thing. I had a lot of doubts: ‘Am I ready? Am I not? Am I even motivated?’ But I’m so glad I came back, I enjoyed it so much.

I’ve been training and I’ve been rock climbing a lot, it was something for my heart, for my soul. I spent a lot of time outside, I trained in the gym as well, but mostly I was taking time off and enjoying other things besides competition and training.”

Cy McIntosh has sent Untwisted (8c+) at Wolf Point and Mutation (9a) in Wild Iris Main Wall. Earlier this spring, the 19-year-old was living in a truck but now he stays with his good friend and mentor, Aaron Hjelt. ”I’m really thankful for that opportunity because it’s let just climb whatever I want whenever I want while having a comfortable house to go home to.”

Can you tell us more about the ascents?
It started with Genetic Drifter (8c+). A classic link up on the rodeo wave which was really fun. After doing that I was really motivated to try the extension mutation. But it got a bit colder for a few days so I wanted to take advantage of that and go to wolf point. One of those days I ended up doing untwisted in a few tries. I’ve never done an 8c+ that fast before so perhaps the grade is up for debate.

After a rest day I went back and climbed mutation. Which is basically a link up of the entire rodeo wave with a rope swap in the middle. I really like goofy routes like that. Partially because sideways is my favorite direction to climb and they also just remind me not to take it to seriously. It’s cool BJ originally had that vision and made it happen.

We’re excited to announce that the Vertical-Life web platform has been upgraded to Nuxt 3! This marks a major technical milestone that brings improvements in performance, stability, and long-term maintainability.

Nuxt 3 is a modern, faster, and more flexible framework that allows us to:

• Load pages more quickly
• Improve the user experience across devices
• Streamline our development workflow for faster iteration

In order to do the upgrade, we had to end your sessions and log you out.

While we’ve tested everything carefully, some bugs may have slipped through the cracks. If you spot anything broken, please let us know!
Send a message to [email protected] with a short description of:

• What went wrong
• What page or feature it happened on
• What device/browser you were using & whether or not you were logged in.
• If possible, a screenshot or screen recording

Thanks!

The Paris Olympic gold medalist, Toby Roberts, who started the season with results of 15-15-20-51, won the Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck, finishing 0.2 points ahead of Sorato Anraku.

”I’m at a loss for words, I don’t really know what just happened. This season has been quite hard, but going into this event I wanted to give everything, and to be honest I’m a little bit starstruck. I’m just so happy.

I definitely struggled a bit post-Olympics, and when I started the season it hit me and I started to feel quite bad. I just wanted to go out there and climb the way I know I can. This competition has been incredible, I enjoyed every moment and to get away with a gold medal doesn’t even feel real.”